Saturday, September 8, 2007
Response to Manguel
"But not only totalitarian governments fear reading. Readers are bullied in schoolyards and in locker-rooms as much as in government offices and prisons. Almost everywhere, the community of readers has an ambiguous reputation that comes from its acquired authority and perceived power. Something in the relationship between a reader and a book is recognized as wise and fruitful, but it is also seen as disdainfully exclusive and excluding" (Manguel, 21). As I read this passage, it reminded me of a conversation I had with my physiology professor over the summer. I was telling him about a volunteer program that my family and I take part in. The program, Project Self-Help and Awareness, brings children from a poverty-stricken area of Mississippi to stay with Wisconsin families for a few weeks each summer. We help the kids with their academics and give them opportunities they do not have at home, such as swimming lessons and sports camps. I told my professor how the father of our "summer son" did not like him coming to stay with us, perhaps because we are a white family. My professor then told me an experience he had teaching science to inner city kids. He explained that the children's parents thought it was disrespectful of the children to be smarter than they were; therefore, the children neglected their studies to ensure that they would not become smarter than their parents. The way the military government in Manguel's country banned certain titles and authors reminded me of how these parents tried to keep their children from learning too much. I believe the reason these parents try to keep knowledge from their children parallels Manguel's government's reason: they feel that their authority would be threatened by ideas and knowledge. While I can empathize with these parents, I am still angered that they let their pride get in the way of their children's future.
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3 comments:
That is a really interesting story. I've never heard of parents trying to keep their children from being smarter than them. It doesn't really make sense to me. I would want my children to have every opportunity in the world to better themselves and choose their own paths in life. Not encouraging children to learn seems like it should be a crime. If people throughout history had stopped trying to learn in order to make their parents feel smarter, we would all be living without modern conveniences and belive the world to be flat.
I do not understand how parents could wish that upon their kids. In this day and age, it is customary for parents to want their kids to have everything they did not have when they were younger or still don't have now. With this mentality, each generation is increasingly more knowledgable and often times better off. I also can not grasp the idea of books being banned. Being an avid reader, I believe everyone should have the opportunity to broaden their horizons and read what interests them. When books are banned or parents are selfish, it limits the knowledge available to future generations. It prohibits the growth of our youth.
It's a really complicated situation. A number of studies of first generation college students (those who are the first in their family to attend college) find that there is tension between the student and the family because of the growing differences between them. These can be linguistic differences, cultural differences, etc. It is sometimes seen as breaking away from the family and becoming Different. Like I said, it's complicated.
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